Thaindian News

New Delhi, May 24 (IANS) The trial against 11 accused, including two companies, for financial irregularities in awarding contract for timing scoring and result (TSR) system at exorbitant rates for the 2010 Commonwealth Games will start in a Delhi court June 6.

Special Judge Talwant Singh Tuesday gave copies of the charge sheet to five of the 11 accused - former CWG Organising Committee (OC) chief and MP Suresh Kalmadi, former secretary general Lalit Bhanot, former director general V.K. Verma, former deputy director general (procurement) Surjeet Lal, and former joint director general (sports) A.S.V. Prasad, who were present in the court.

Arguments on the bail applications of Kalmadi, Lal and Prasad would come up May 26.

Copies of the over 35-page charge sheet were given to the accused, without the documents, annexures and statement of witnesses which run into 10,000 pages.

“I want to start e-trial in this particular case,” said the special judge, asking counsel if they want e-copies or hard copies of the charge sheet.

“It is only a proposal, I am not pressing any accused to get an e-copy. The CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) can provide hard copies, if you want,” he said.

Except Lal, all the accused opted for an e-copy of the documents.

The judge, thereafter, directed the CBI to provide the copies of all the documents, annexures and statements of witnesses to the accused by June 6.

“The CBI is directed to prepare a hard copy for Lal and e-copies for all the other accused,” the judge said, adding that after going through e-copies if counsel wished to have hard copies of any document, the agency would provide it to them.

The court also asked the accused to appoint a lawyer each to deal with the court.

“The accused can have a group of lawyers but they should nominate one counsel who will deal with the court,” the judge said.

The court also extended the judicial custody of all the five accused, who appeared before it, till June 6, the next date of hearing.

In its charge sheet, the CBI accused Kalmadi of having close relations with co-accused and promoters of Faridabad-based Gem International’s A.K. Madan and Purushottam Arya who were involved in the deal.

The CBI has alleged the duo were in regular contact with Kalmadi, Verma, Bhanot and other key functionaries. “There is evidence in form of call data records that there were telephonic contacts between them even before February 2009.”

The charge sheet said that Vijay Kumar Gautam, a member of one of the committees of CWG, raised questions over the alleged conspiracy of the accused for favouring Swiss Timing. “He objected to the ads, saying that they were issued in a wrong, illegal and unprofessional manner.”

Gautam sent a letter to Verma seeking withdrawal of the ad and a reply to justify the action taken by him in conspiracy with Lal, Bhanot and Prasad but no reply ever came, the charge sheet said.

Stressing the fact that the accused intentionally caused favour to Swiss Timing, the charge sheet said: “Due to the conspiracy to limit competition and in furtherance of the illegal alterations, MSL Spain was wrongfully eliminated, thereby causing pecuniary benefit to the only bidder left in the fray.”

The CBI May 20 filed its first charge sheet in the case against Kalmadi and others, describing him as a prime accused and the mastermind in the corruption case.

The other four co-accused in this case are managing director of Hyderabad-based A.K.R. Constructions A. Krishna Reddy, OC’s former treasurer M. Jayachandran and two companies A.K.R. Constructions and Swiss Timing.

All the accused have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including section 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), section 420 (cheating), sections 468 and 471 (forgery), and the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The probe agency has listed more than 50 witnesses in the case and over 250 documents to prove its allegations against all the accused.

While Kalmadi, Prasad and Lal were arrested April 26, Bhanot and Verma were arrested Feb 23. They all are at present in Tihar Jail.